Botany and adaptability of paprika cultivation (Capsicum annum)

Paprika is a crop with a wide distribution worldwide, it is a vegetable used for its fruit and adapts well to tropical conditions, it is widely used in the preparation of meals which allows it to be highly sought after in the agricultural market, generating good dividends to farmers who decide to establish this crop on the surfaces of their production units, as long as they implement appropriate agronomic management that enhances its yield.

To enter into the specific topic of this publication, we can mention that paprika is a herbaceous plant that is to say that it is not a woody plant, it is perennial with this we mean that it can remain for indefinite periods on the surface as long as, as mentioned above, adequate management is implemented. On the other hand, it can be mentioned that it is an annual cycle crop, that is, it can go through all its stages until production in one year and its height can range between 0.5 and 2 meters depending on the variety that is sown.

As for its botanical characteristics, we can point out that its radical system is pivotal with a deep main root with numerous secondary roots that can extend horizontally into the soil reaching lengths of 50 cm or up to 1 meter. Its stem is herbaceous and erect, as for its leaves are simple alternating and have an ovate or sometimes almost lanceolate shape, that is, lance-shaped, the petiole that is the vegetative structure that helps insert the leaf to the stem is long. The fruit is a berry that is to say that it contains several seeds inside these can be red, green, yellow depending on the variety and the level of maturity.

This plant, like any other crop, has requirements for its climate and soil adaptation, some researchers mention that the ideal average temperature for this crop to develop is between 18 and 22 °C in addition to requiring good humidity for its development, that is, in tropical climates with adequate humidity they can develop effectively. The establishment of this crop in the field is usually done through transplanting seedlings, for this a space such as a nursery or seedbed is suitable for this, bags or containers known as seed beds are used where several seeds can be placed to obtain the largest number of seedlings.

In nursery all the conditions are controlled including management such as weed control, pest control, fertilizer supply, water application among other tasks of interest that allows the plant to develop correctly and when it has a certain height and shows good vigor, they can be taken to the final field where it can complete its phenological cycle to obtain the desired item.

Dear readers, these are some of the characteristics of the paprika plant, which allows you to know how the plant is, the conditions it requires in the field and what alternative we can implement to bring a vigorous plant to the field, these aspects and others that we will mention in the following publications are important to develop a good production of this area of food interest worldwide.